XAVI: 14 PLAYERS PRESENT FOR TRAINING

Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez is the man saddled with the responsibility of getting the club back to being one of the best teams in European football. He was unveiled as the new Barcelona manager on Monday afternoon after a long drawn saga with Qatari club AlSadd.Barcelona had to pay a compensation fee to secure the release of the ex-Spanish midfielder from his contract at Al Sadd.

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During his unveiling as the new Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez talked about the need to start taking training sessions. He also touched on his playing style and plan of action.
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Xavi believes Barcelona would find it ‘very difficult’ to re-sign Neymar

Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez has said that the Blaugrana would find it very difficult to reacquire the services of Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazil international made the switch to the French champions from the Camp Nou two years ago but reports have indicated that he would prefer to make a comeback ahead of next season.

Speaking to Movistar, Xavi said that Neymar remains one of the best players in the world and it would be an incredible signing for the Spanish champions. However, he added that the deal won’t come easy with Les Parisiens likely to demand in upwards of £200m for the former Santos graduate, he told: “He would be an incredible signing. But I see it as being difficult, honestly. I think it’s very difficult. We have seen so many things that I thought I’d never see though, such as PSG paying €222million, so we’ll have to wait. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the best players in the world, but let’s see what Barcelona do.”

Barcelona are currently not in a position to sanction a world-record fee for the attacker, considering they are set to pursue Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid for around £108m. As such, reports have suggested that they may discuss an exchange deal whereby there is no money involved for the transfer agreement.

The Blaugrana have made no mention regarding the same but reports suggest that Samuel Umtiti, Ivan Rakitic and Ousmane Dembele could be offered as makeweights to land the services of the Brazilian attacker. Barcelona have been a dominant force through La Liga over the years and last season saw them win the title with a comfortable 11-point gap.

They, however,have not been able to replicate the same at the European scale and have not won the Champions League since the 2014/15 season. That period saw the prime of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on the playing field and the supporters could witness a reunion of the attacking trident this summer.